US President Trump declares COVID-19 national emergency

March 16, 2020

On Friday, United States President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The move came two days after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak, which causes the COVID-19 disease, to be a pandemic.

The move gives the federal government access to around US$50 billion in extra funding to combat the, according to NBC News.

The proclamation specifically said "the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States constitutes a national emergency" and said the national emergency began on March 1, almost two weeks before the proclamation itself. The declared the outbreak a "public health emergency" on January 31.

Trump did not place the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in charge of the government's response to COVID-19, which  reported left some experts in disaster management disappointed. Politico quoted Tim Manning, formerly a deputy administrator at FEMA, as saying "FEMA has an important role in coordinating the larger response to the crisis" and "[i]f there's an emergency, FEMA needs to be involved."

Trump made the decision under provisions of the, amongst other governing authorities. The Trump administration also announced other efforts in response to COVID-19, including waiving the interest it collects on federal student loans and increasing U.S. strategic oil reserve oil purchases.